Collaboration should be highon every business’ agenda in 2011, says Partner to Succeed programme director Tim Bryant
A ‘new era’ appears to be dawning for businesses across the UK, with the credit crunch and economic downturn being attributed as the catalyst, according to the UK’s top business lobbying organisation.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggested in its report entitled ‘Shape of Business – the Next 10 Years’ that the response to the changes in the economy will determine how companies interact with each other moving forward.
The paper indicated that many positives will in time emerge from the downturn, with firms thinking wider than just themselves, improving accountability and corporate citizenship and creating a more flexible and globally aware workforce.
The report also claimed that new innovative funding streams and more widespread collaboration will become the main driving forces of a rejuvenated UK business scene. Is your business ready to take advantage of these emerging opportunities?
Partner to Succeed, Cornwall’s Business Collaboration Networks, forms part of the Convergence Programme, and is designed to provide expertise and practical guidance in how to successfully collaborate whatever the size and scope of the partnership activity – be it local, national or international.
During the past year we have listened carefully to feedback from our clients, and have refined and enhanced our offer of Collaboration Support to provide ‘three streams’ of expert collaboration guidance and expertise for 2011.
Active Collaborations
If you have an innovative idea for a collaboration project, but simply lack the skills and time required to bring it to life, we’re here to help you.
Partner to Succeed act as a ‘third partner’ to your collaboration project. In an ‘Active Collaboration’, a Collaboration Project Manager can be with you through every step of the collaboration process.
Utilising their collaboration expertise and free access to the very latest ‘Basecamp’ collaborative software ensures that your collaboration journey becomes far more focused and structured.
We also invite our ‘active collaborators’ to apply for a Collaboration Grant (matchfunded), which can provide a critical financial boost to a new collaborative venture.
Collaborate with Confidence
If you’re not sure who to collaborate with, or what to collaborate on, then the new Collaborate with Confidence series of expert-workshops should be of interest.
Each Collaborate with Confidence seminar is specifically designed to help businesses to overcome their initial concerns regarding collaborating with other businesses, and provides practical and hands-on guidance for the most popular emerging areas for working in partnership including: Collaborative Tendering, Collaborative Distribution and Collaborative Innovation.
Collaboration Catalyst
Do you already collaborate with others, but have a collaboration project that simply refuses to gain momentum no matter how hard you try? Or perhaps you are about to engage in a joint-venture project that could become much larger in scope with external support?
A Collaboration Catalyst could provide the solution. Providing an injection of collaborative expertise, a Collaboration Catalyst is the quickest way of releasing the potential of an embryonic or stalled collaborative project.
This article appears in the February 2011 issue of Business Cornwall magazine
